Sacramento Land(ing)

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Sacramento Real Estate Market - June 2008 Water Cooler

Post off-topic links, observations, and stories about the Sacramento real estate market here. Please read the comment policy before posting.

70 comments:

Unknown said...: Hilarious response by Barry Rithotlz of "Big Picture" to a real estate industry buffoon:

http://xrl.us/bmc7c

Said buffoon's e-mail address now published on a high-traffic blog. The guy deserved it.; Sunday, June 01, 2008 9:24:00 PM
Wadin' In said...: In the last recession, peak foreclosures occured 3 years after peak inventory (1992 peak, 1995 maximum foreclosures)

In Sacramento, it appears we have seen the peak inventory August 2007. Thus it is likely we will have maximum foreclosures in August 2010. That would be the optimal time to buy a house. Lowest prices, great selection.; Monday, June 02, 2008 4:54:00 AM
sf jack said...: Why is this recession / housing downturn going to be like the last one?

I would say it's going to be worse, though I certainly could be wrong.

I will take a guess; if Sac's max inventory was August 2007, then maybe max foreclosures will be in 2012?

(2012 does seem a long way off if one considers how quickly times have changed...); Monday, June 02, 2008 10:44:00 AM
Buying Time said...: I think this market is unwinding much quicker than previous busts.

Two major contributing factors: 1) the information age speeds up the cycles, and 2) many saw their home as an investment and not a place to live...thus they will not be likely to do all they can to forestall foreclosure.; Monday, June 02, 2008 11:01:00 AM
smf said...: BT, I would state exactly that.

Just as the internet helped to take this market higher faster, the reverse also applies.

Couple other things:

- Finally more stories coming out about the speculation driven asset (oil) market. Notice how the price has dramatically risen since the credit crunch began.

- Ditto for stories on those 'investors' buying cheap REOs right now. A market with 50% speculators is NOT a healthy market.

- Short sales of the higher end properties will start soon. There are now TWO of them in Gold River.; Monday, June 02, 2008 11:22:00 AM
Jacob said...: I for one hope we reach the bottom and the economy starts to recover sooner rather than later.

I want to buy a home.

But, I can force myself to wait.; Monday, June 02, 2008 11:29:00 AM
Marginal Utility said...: Wadin'in - I'm inclined to agree except 15 years ago, we didn't have option arms and 2/28's. Those are both going to speed up the process. I think we're in for a "L" shaped move in prices. We're already seeing that on the low end. Anything that's under $100 sqft is getting bought quick. As soon as the higher end adjusts (may take a year or more) we'll be back to fundamentals in the RE market and it will be time to start hunting for a deal.; Monday, June 02, 2008 11:54:00 AM
smf said...: Let us not forget that the excess inventory problem will be with us for a long time to come.

http://calculatedrisk.blogspot.com/2008/06/lawrence-lindsey-on-housing-its-only.html; Monday, June 02, 2008 1:21:00 PM
Unknown said...: I don't post often, but I just have to vent a bit.

This is so infuriating, from the LA Times:

http://tinyurl.com/5pvxta

These GENIUSES enjoyed $447K GROSS APPRECIATION in six years, and what do they have to show?

"Gary and Debra remain cheerful despite it all. They built a business and owned three houses, trading up twice as the market rose."

no no NO! Your 'business' is in a deeply, deeply troubled industry with no turnaround in sight, run out of your GARAGE, and provides an income that must be supplemented with Home Despot wages. THAT'S the business you built.
Um, Amway will sell me a starter kit for a hundred bucks...

You did NOT own three houses. In fact, the Bank owned MOST of those houses, and is about to own ALL of the last one. What you own is a foreclosure on your credit report. That's it.

"The banks loaned money to all kinds of people they should\n't have, including us," Gary said. "This situation we're in is one of our own making. We were not taken advantage of."

Hear, hear. At least he's Keepin' it Real. Gary and his wife were the ones taking advantage.

No Bailout! No Bailout! No Bailout! (I'd include the Financialz in that request, but our Masters tell us they're just 'too big to fail,' dontcha knoo...)

Re: when to buy.
We sold near the peak (2006), and I told my wife I wouldn't even be interested in buying until 2010. When I saw that Credit Suisse graph reporting on the Alt A and Option ARM resets, I said "okay, maybe 2012." Right now I'm guessing 2015, before there's ANY nominal increase in home values.

Don't worry about missing it, People. Housing will eventually bottom, and then bounce along forEVER losing $$ to inflation. You won't miss it. Don't even THINK of jumping in with The Lowball until prices in your area go 6-9 months without dropping...

I believe it was a Mssr. Jagger who said, "Time is on Our Side." Enjoy renting -- there's perhaps never been a better time to rent in human history.

With the money you save, buy some precious metals and take
Chinese lessons. Because the trouble's only just begun for:

choose one:
a) The United States of Obtuse
b) Weimar 2.0
c) The Nation-Sized studio audience for 'Dancing with the Stars'

whew. Venting complete.; Monday, June 02, 2008 1:50:00 PM
Diggin Deeper said...: "Notice how the price has dramatically risen since the credit crunch began."

Go ahead and dump a few hundred $Billion from the copter, cut the discount and funds rates several times, and most hard assets are going to rise defiant until the excess is remove fromt the marketplace.

BTW....Secty Treasury, Paulson stated last week there's no quick fix to oil prices...Why? SUPPLY and DEMAND.; Monday, June 02, 2008 2:07:00 PM
sf jack said...: I have not fully considered whether the internet is playing a large role here.

I do think the downdraft has occurred so quickly because of Wall Street's problems, whose impacts are unprecedented in this marketplace (one could say that technology allowed Wall Street to put securitization on steroids, so to speak, and they would be right...).

To me it appears the reason prices have come down so fast in so many locales is simply because they went up so fast in so many places. The price misalignments (to income, etc.) happened so quickly and were so great - that what we are seeing is the fallout.

The rise due, of course, to Wall Street and its clients who sought higher yields than they could find elsewhere - thanks to Alan Greenspan and the 'Do Nothing' Fed.

All that being said, I expect some deadcat bounces and such over the next four or five years.

Today we haven't even really experienced the full brunt of a recession (where are the numerous municipal and state government layoffs, for one indicator...?).

Eventually foreclosures will peak and housing will bottom, but I suppose I'm still sticking to my 2012 figure.

And realize that 2012 prices may still be relevant in some places in 2017.; Monday, June 02, 2008 2:56:00 PM
Unknown said...: inventory seems be going down further in housing tracker. Is this a turn around in the making?; Monday, June 02, 2008 8:31:00 PM
Unknown said...: diggin deeper: "BTW....Secty Treasury, Paulson stated last week there's no quick fix to oil prices...Why? SUPPLY and DEMAND."
-----------

Sure... an OVERSUPPLY of paper dollars! Since 2001 the dollar has lost 40% of its value against world assets due to chronic budget deficits and overactive printing presses at the U.S. mint. OPEC and the oil market knows this and demand more paper dollars per barrel of oil.

If the dollar had stayed steady at its 2001 value, gasoline would be $2.50 per gallon today.; Monday, June 02, 2008 9:16:00 PM
STOP ROSEVILLE CRIME said...: Two great must read articles. One is Peter Schiff's thoughts on getting his clients completely out of the US market. http://tinyurl.com/5vysr8

The second is from magazine the Economist showing how housing prices are falling even faster than in the Great Depression. http://tinyurl.com/6bmq5u; Monday, June 02, 2008 10:36:00 PM
patient renter said...: Thus it is likely we will have maximum foreclosures in August 2010. That would be the optimal time to buy a house

Price drops are a result of forclosures, not an immediate component of them, so the time to buy would be sometime after peak forclosures.; Tuesday, June 03, 2008 4:57:00 PM
Lander said...: In the last recession, peak foreclosures occured 3 years after peak inventory (1992 peak, 1995 maximum foreclosures)

Here's the data I have:

MLS Inventory Peak: April 1992
(TrendGraphix)

Defaults Peak: Q1 1997
Foreclosures Peak: Q2 1997
(DataQuick)

Market Bottom (Price):
-Q1 1997 (Global Insight)
-Dec 1996 (SAR)

____________________________

Defaults - Q1 2008:
+113% YoY (DataQuick)

Pre-Foreclosures - May 2008:
+53% YoY (foreclosures.com)

REOs - May 2008:
+113% YoY (foreclosures.com); Thursday, June 05, 2008 9:57:00 PM
patient renter said...: Wow, peak forclosures in 97? I had no idea. That leaves some ominous potential for forclosures in this downturn since there are several factors driving forclosures that didn't even exist in the 90s downturn.; Friday, June 06, 2008 4:34:00 PM
patient renter said...: Interesting post from Mike Morgan:

http://realestateandhousing2.blogspot.com/2008/06/florida-at-precipice-of-depression.html; Saturday, June 07, 2008 9:54:00 AM
wannabuy said...: thus they will not be likely to do all they can to forestall foreclosure.

Yea... but those foreclosures will put other people "underwater" creating fresh foreclosures.

Calculated risk has a graph of the fraction of homeownership "owners" have in their houses... Its not pretty.

Got Popcorn?
Neil; Saturday, June 07, 2008 5:58:00 PM
Unknown said...: Does anyone know how to get your property taxes decreased. I bought a foreclosure in the 95826 zip 3 months ago for $66k (condo)- which sold for $205k in 2005.

I am still stuck paying the upper end taxes at the moment. I called the tax agency and they told me they were re-evaluating properties and my taxes would go down shortly. They only re-evaluated the property tax to the properties value of $168k- I don't want to waste money paying these taxes- how do I get them to immediately tax me on only 66k? Can it ever happen? I was assuming it would.

I ask because I am eyeing this 2800 sq. ft home in Lincoln sold for $450k in 2005- but for some reason the taxes on it are $8,000 a year. Are taxes that bad up there. The home is for sale for $249k and I want it for $200k but don't want to be stuck with an $8000 a year tax bill. I am an investor so I need as much money to go into the property as possible- not to the tax man.

Please help; Sunday, June 08, 2008 1:19:00 AM
anoop said...: I think we'll shortly be seeing a jump in inventory based on the listings I'm seeing from Zip Realty.; Sunday, June 08, 2008 7:18:00 AM
... said...: Luca, the State property tax rate is the same in Lincoln as Sacramento, but in many newer areas, there are layers of district taxes, sometimes Community Service Districts, Lighting and landscape disticts, etc. to take care of the community landscape. This may be instead of or combined with HOA dues and Mello Roos fees.

Looks like your previous rate up there was about 1-3/4%, the base state rate is 1%. Looks like they have 3/4% of "extras" buried in the tax rate. Enjoy!; Sunday, June 08, 2008 7:41:00 AM
HousingRealist said...: anyone know what the following home sold for:

1022 44th street
sacramento, ca 95819; Sunday, June 08, 2008 8:33:00 AM
Rich said...: "I am an investor so I need as much money to go into the property as possible- not to the tax man."

As opposed to everyone else who needs as much money as possible to go to the tax man?; Sunday, June 08, 2008 10:23:00 AM
Tyrone said...: 1022 44th street

Just checked that house at Zillow. What a joke.

4 beds, 3.5 baths, 3,457 sq ft
For Sale: $1,775,000

Here is another similar house:
1026 43rd St
4 beds, 3.0 baths, 2,946 sq ft
For Sale: $1,099,000; Sunday, June 08, 2008 11:17:00 AM
RV6Flyer said...: "1022 44th street"

Tyrone, the 44th St house does seem steep at $500 sq ft, but damn, is that a nice house.
The 43rd st house is right in line with comps at about $300 sq ft. These are not the stucco boxes in the burbs, quality costs money.
What do you think they are worth?; Sunday, June 08, 2008 1:45:00 PM
RV6Flyer said...: Housingrealist

Here is the history for 1022 44th

Buyer / Borrower MCGREGOR,WILLIAM T & TANIS
Seller Name ROONEY,PETER M & BROOKS H
Lender Name CHASE MANHATTAN MORTGAGE CORP
Title Company STEWART TITLE
Transfer Date August 31, 1998
Transfer Value $624,000 (Full)
Transaction Type Re-Sale
Document Number 0000000942
Multiple/Portion
First Loan Amount $512,000
Loan Type Conventional
Interest Rate Type Variable
Deed Type
Second Loan Amount $64,000

Buyer / Borrower NOVICK,CAROLYN S
Seller Name MC GREGOR,WILLIAM T & TANIS
Lender Name
Title Company STEWART TITLE
Transfer Date June 29, 2000
Transfer Value $995,000 (Full)
Transaction Type Re-Sale
Document Number 0000001055
Multiple/Portion
First Loan Amount $0

Buyer / Borrower LONGORIA,JAMES & DYANNA R
Seller Name NOVICK,TR
Lender Name WELLS FARGO HOME MORTGAGE INC
Title Company STEWART TITLE
Transfer Date November 21, 2002
Transfer Value $1,175,000 (Full)
Transaction Type Re-Sale
Document Number 0000002509
Multiple/Portion
First Loan Amount $822,500
Loan Type Conventional
Interest Rate Type Fixed
Deed Type
Second Loan Amount $235,000

Buyer / Borrower RICH,JAMIE L
Seller Name LONGORIA JAMES & D R TRUST
Lender Name FLAGSTAR BANK FSB
Title Company
Transfer Date February 14, 2007
Transfer Value $1,695,000 (Full)
Transaction Type Re-Sale
Document Number 0000002031
Multiple/Portion
First Loan Amount $999,995
Loan Type Conventional
Interest Rate Type Fixed

So looks like it last sold for $1.7MM; Sunday, June 08, 2008 1:50:00 PM
Unknown said...: ouch, may have to skip on Lincoln even if the house is cheap - the layers of taxes are horrible.

Even if I got $1500 rent every month on the $200,000 2800 sq. ft lincoln home I would have to successfully rent the property out for 5.3 months just to pay the cost of TAXES!!!!!
What a joke

bring on more inventory!; Sunday, June 08, 2008 2:12:00 PM
... said...: 1500 a month is a nice apartment. OK maybe a 3/2 older 1400 sf in Lincoln.

Even net of the additional taxes, the ratio is less than 15 price/rent.

But I agree you need to look at the whole picture as an investor, differences in tax rates, dues, mello roos vs. future potential appreciation.

As nice as Lincoln is, the barrier is time and distance, as I was reminded last week while driving up 65, its not a pretty drive once you pass the mall, and a daily drive through the I-80 gauntlet at the county line and bumper to bumper with the casino folks would lead me to drinking.... more. The key to Lincoln is increasing employment along the 65 corridor, etc.; Sunday, June 08, 2008 3:55:00 PM
Unknown said...: I agree sippin- I think Lincoln is a long term gem- especially if jobs and development on the 65 ever happen- but in the short term it is too far and under developed to really be appreciated by most. It is away from the inner city crime and good people tend to live there.

Elk grove is too close to south sac and Natomas is too close to North Highlands. Good people may steer clear in the future of these areas.

Lincoln is buffered in by Roseville. In 10-15 years it may be very sought after,.,,.,.maybe; Sunday, June 08, 2008 6:49:00 PM
Tyrone said...: What do you think they are worth?

1022 44th street

Tyrone-Est®: $850K; Sunday, June 08, 2008 7:02:00 PM
... said...: Tyrone - if the house was gone, the bare lot might get more than your guess, possibly $900-$1.2 mil. Most desirable neighborhood in the city limits. 45th and M is ground zero... this is one block away and its a classic...redone.

You knew it was in pending, right?; Sunday, June 08, 2008 8:25:00 PM
norcaljeff said...: Property taxes are based on purchased price, not what the other guy paid.

Homes in Lincoln can easily be rented for 1500. I was seeing 4000 sq ft going for 2k so keep looking and check craigslist.; Sunday, June 08, 2008 9:34:00 PM
anoop said...: What industry can cause this area to come up? There was construction but now that is gone...and it will take with it a lot of auxiliary stuff -- contractors doing pools, lighting, etc., mortgage brokers, title companies, ...

Only thing left is retail. There is no tourism or anything like that to speak of. Retail alone has never been enough to keep an area prosperous. Roseville has a lot of "rich" people from the Bay Area. I have "rich" in quotes because they are not Santa-Barbara rich...my guess is their net work probably hovers around ~$1-2M and they are the retail business owners. Instead of earning money, they will slowly lose money, because retail will stop doing well. But they will be around and it will not hurt their lifestyle. However, it will not help Lincoln at all, because the jobs that they provide are low paying jobs.

For real-estate to do well in this area you need someone like HP, Intel, Oracle, etc. to come in make a committed investment to growing the area. For that to happen, the governor/city/whatever would have to call the CEO and offer lucrative tax incentives. That's what states such as North Carolina are doing.

Until then, Lincoln real-estate going up is just a pipe dream.; Sunday, June 08, 2008 9:43:00 PM
patient renter said...: Paranoid Renter is dead on. Unforunately, even the footholds that HP/Intel/etc have in the region are shrinking.; Monday, June 09, 2008 9:13:00 AM
Tyrone said...: You knew it was in pending, right?

No, but that doesn't matter.
Question was: what do you think it's worth?

That's the question I answered--I put an estimate on that house, located in Sacramento, CA.

When this debacle hits bottom, that "Beverly Hills" of Sacramento isn't going to look very attactive. My estimate might be high at that time.; Monday, June 09, 2008 10:30:00 AM
RV6Flyer said...: Car trouble takes on a new meaning when it comes to financially distressed Rep. Laura Richardson.

In 2005, when she was still on the Long Beach City Council, she left one mechanic in a lurch with an unpaid bill, then later had her badly damaged BMW towed to an auto body shop but didn't pay for any work and abandoned the car there, owners of the businesses said this week.

The next day, Richardson began using a city-owned vehicle - putting almost 31,000 miles on it in about a year - and continued driving the car five days after she had left the council to serve in the state Assembly, city records show.

Richardson, 46, didn't return phone calls seeking comment this week.

These are just the newest revelations of Richardson's ongoing financial problems and instances of her unpaid debts.

Last month, it was reported that Richardson's Sacramento home, where she had lived during her brief Assembly stint before moving on to Congress, had fallen into foreclosure and been sold at auction. Further investigation revealed she had defaulted on that house and two others in Long Beach and San Pedro a total of eight times since 2004.

Meanwhile, Richardson was lending money to her campaigns as she embarked on an unprecedented rise to power from council to Assembly to Congress in one year. On Tuesday, she won the Democratic nomination to serve her first full, two-year term in the House of Representatives, and she is unchallenged in the November; Monday, June 09, 2008 4:06:00 PM
HousingRealist said...: There is a home at 1026 43rd street going for $1,099,000. The same block as the 1022 44th. The home on 43rd is about 400sqft smaller. Why 600k difference. Furthermore, home at 1445 43rd with asking price of 859K at 900 sqft smaller. Why half the price?

Home 1 - 3400 sqft
Home 2 - 2900 sqft
home 3 - 2400 sqft; Monday, June 09, 2008 6:34:00 PM
Anonymous said...: "Why half the price?"

You have to go inside the homes to find out since the quality of the homes varies widely. The area wasn't built as a tract so is much more complex that just square footage. A quality remodel can easily run $250/ sq ft in a fab 40's type of house.; Monday, June 09, 2008 9:25:00 PM
norcaljeff said...: PR, good post on Lincoln. Regarding HP, Oracle, Intel, NEC don't overestimate what they can do locally. I have friends and family at all four places. Typically, Oracle pays the least, ave salary about $40-45. HP is $45-50. NEC is maybe $55K-70K. Intel is around $70K. Most have had flat to 1% annual yoy pay increases for the past 6-9 years. Not high paying in my opinion and hard to qualify for a $400K loan with those salaries.; Monday, June 09, 2008 10:00:00 PM
Unknown said...: I'm quite aware of what a remodel does to home values. If you look at each of the homes, they have all had work done, and some level of remodel. What I'm trying to point out is home 1 is overvalued relative to the others. The remodel jobfor home 1 over home 2, assuming nothing was done to home 2, which is not the case, does not equate to 600k.; Monday, June 09, 2008 10:02:00 PM
RV6Flyer said...: "...The remodel jobfor home 1 over home 2, assuming nothing was done to home 2, which is not the case, does not equate to 600k."

Did you happen to look at the size of the lots? This is were most of the value comes from. 44th has several .25 acre lots, while all of 45th and 46th are .25 to .5 acre lots. My house on 41st is only .12 acres. My friends on 43rd all have .12-.15 acre lots as well.

So your comps must be weighted to value of the land as well.; Tuesday, June 10, 2008 9:11:00 AM
... said...: Exactly, looking at an aerial, one of the "discounted" homes in on the corner of Folsom Blvd. - some discount applies. The most expensive home, already sold, is the nicest, updated, classic, largest lot of the bunch, nearest to ground zero - 45th x M (like a mountain top - only the mountain is missing)

If this doesn't matter to you - good - you'll save money by purchasing away from the center, the further, the more savings.; Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:08:00 AM
HousingRealist said...: Why do you keep saying the home is at the mountain peak, and trash the others as being on the corner. The home in question on 44th is one home from j street.

Sippn, do you know what the nicest home just sold for?; Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:29:00 AM
... said...: No

I'm not trashing, just saying there is relative value due to relative demand by those with money. Its the facts.

4 hospitals with how many hundreds of Dr.s making $200K plus is a good start for the competition to purchase homes in the neighborhood.

The mountain peak - 45xM - 4 large homes, at least one on a double lot, lots of history... the "castle", the "english manor" the "pink flamingo" etc. rumor has it that most had no mortgages for decades. Almost always a political fund raiser on one of the corners. Reagan's house was 1-2 homes away. Those are a few reasons its the Fab 40's. I wouldn't mind much living on 39th or 41st, but the underground lodging at 44th and P is a little quiet for me.; Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:59:00 AM
anoop said...: >>>>>
Regarding HP, Oracle, Intel, NEC don't overestimate what they can do locally. I have friends and family at all four places. Typically, Oracle pays the least, ave salary about $40-45. HP is $45-50. NEC is maybe $55K-70K. Intel is around $70K.
>>>>>

norcaljeff,

Those sound like entry-level numbers. They would go up quite significantly over time. I know a lot of people that work at these companies and are single income families. They are doing quite well. Those that are 2 income are rolling in dough.; Tuesday, June 10, 2008 1:13:00 PM
Deflationary Jane said...: PR, not always.

I know folks that have been with Intel for 5 to 10 years, one in IT management that hasn't cracked $65k. If you have a Ph.D. and are in a designn group, then yes, you're doing ok. But you'd be surprised at entry level salaries- you aren't making that much.; Tuesday, June 10, 2008 6:12:00 PM
2cents said...: Hot off the presses:

(06-13) 13:28 PDT HAVANA, CA (AP)

Cuba on Friday turned over to U.S. authorities an American fugitive sought on charges of sexual abuse of a minor and possession of child pornography.

Cuban authorities said they arrested Leonard B. Auerbach, a 61-year-old MORTGAGE SPECIALIST from Orinda, California, on the island on May 7, acting on information from U.S. officials.

I think that must be a typo. They must have meant MORTGAGE STRATEGIST.; Friday, June 13, 2008 2:33:00 PM
STOP ROSEVILLE CRIME said...: PR, those aren't entry level salaries at all. I had a friend who moved into a consulting job at Oracle and they made him take his same pay, $40K. I know most of those people a few years back would have qualified to a low income housing loan. Roseville didn't have a program at the time otherwise I would have been able to get in on that. I did have friends who were at Oracle and HP who were on the low income housing program until they got married. Unless you're a 30-year veteran at HP who had stock options, you're not living the high life in this area, don't fool yourself. BTW, HP stopped options for anyone less than a director in title so no one's getting rich anymore, those days are over, just like the housing bubble.; Friday, June 13, 2008 11:29:00 PM
anoop said...: >>>>>
BTW, HP stopped options for anyone less than a director in title so no one's getting rich anymore, those days are over, just like the housing bubble.
>>>>

Ever since the dot com bust options produce very little if anything at all. Most companies that want employees to make money off stock give stock grants rather than stock options. Anyway, HP is not one of the places you get rich from stock. However, most senior level employees earn good salaries and bonuses. I would guess the combined salary & bonus would be more than 100K, otherwise they cannot compete with other companies.; Saturday, June 14, 2008 9:13:00 AM
STOP ROSEVILLE CRIME said...: Compete with what? State jobs? There's nothing around here to compete with.; Saturday, June 14, 2008 10:48:00 PM
anoop said...: >>>>>>>>
Compete with what? State jobs? There's nothing around here to compete with.
>>>>>>>>

There are several smaller companies working in similar areas of technology. Plus some will choose to leave the area (at least anyone that's reasonably good).; Sunday, June 15, 2008 4:21:00 AM
patient renter said...: I would guess the combined salary & bonus would be more than 100K, otherwise they cannot compete with other companies.

Compete with what? State jobs? There's nothing around here to compete with.

As we all should know now (with that SacBee article), there are plenty of state workers who make 100k plus, and that's without the pension.; Monday, June 16, 2008 2:06:00 PM
Deflationary Jane said...: Sure if you work for corrections.
Haven't we beaten the state worker myth to death yet?

Expect state wages and FTE's to shink, not expand.; Monday, June 16, 2008 6:30:00 PM
patient renter said...: Interesting quote from economist John W. Bitner yesterday, who believes that the government should intervene in the housing mess:

"The free market forces will resolve the issue [housing crisis], but they’re vicious and will resolve it in an ugly way".

Rightfully absent from that comment is the idea that government intervention is capable of resolving the crisis. It is not. History so demonstrates. Therefore "the ugly way" (the free market way) is the only way we've got.; Tuesday, June 17, 2008 4:21:00 PM
2cents said...: The DQ data is late this month. I wonder if they're having trouble figuring out which title transfers are foreclosures and which are legitimate sales.

I emailed my congressional representatives a couple months ago to let them know that I vote and I oppose any kind of taxpayer-funded housing bailout and each of them has written back to me describing in detail everything they're doing to promote a taxpayer-funded housing bailout.; Wednesday, June 18, 2008 8:51:00 AM
patient renter said...: LOL. What pandering idiots. Politicians are so worthless. I swear these guys would vote for anything if they thought it was popular and would keep them in office. They don't have the juevos to think longterm and dish up anything that's hard for constituents to swallow (such as NOT victimizing taxpayers to fund a bailout).; Wednesday, June 18, 2008 10:17:00 AM
HOUSE2008 said...: Politicians are so worthless....

Come now, they gave you a tax rebate didn't they? They just forgot to hand out the Care Bears with them....; Wednesday, June 18, 2008 8:32:00 PM
patient renter said...: they gave you a tax rebate didn't they?

Yea, and this perfectly demonstrates my statement above - they'll vote for anything if they think it's popular regardless of the long term consequences.; Thursday, June 19, 2008 1:36:00 PM
RV6Flyer said...: "What pandering idiots. Politicians are so worthless. I swear these guys would vote for anything if they thought it was popular and would keep them in office. They don't have the juevos to think longterm and dish up anything that's hard for constituents to swallow (such as NOT victimizing taxpayers to fund a bailout)."

I can't agree with you more!!; Thursday, June 19, 2008 4:04:00 PM
patient renter said...: It looks like the freight train that is the housing bailout legislation is being used to create a national fingerprint database. Aside from the fact that a housing bailout creates many more new victims than it rectifies and a fingerprint database is a violation of freedom, what does one have to do with the other?

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121417819688495525.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

It's items like this that make me a little ashamed to be an American.; Monday, June 23, 2008 1:32:00 PM
Buying Time said...: I'm thinking about forking over some cash for a subscription to a foreclosure site....can anyone recommend a good one?; Monday, June 23, 2008 7:26:00 PM
HOUSE2008 said...: Well um, what the @#!! is going on out there with oil/inflation? Doesn't Ben SEE what's happening? Oh wait, then again when you have a maid buying the groceries, gas, and accountants paying your mortgage, ect one is really detached from the "consumers" point of view. I just hit the "ouch" level by paying $75 to fill up my car today. That's like $600 a month for me. A $1000+ for this household in fuel. This is craaaazy.....; Thursday, June 26, 2008 2:06:00 PM
Anonymous said...: why are you driving so much?; Saturday, June 28, 2008 9:58:00 PM
Rich said...: We have the cheapest non-OPEC gas in the world. It's only going up. I know it's fundemental to our economy, but forget 'seven generations', we're now paying on a debt taken out by our parents and grand-parents.; Sunday, June 29, 2008 6:47:00 AM
HOUSE2008 said...: why are you driving so much?

Well, you know that saying " be careful what you ask for?"

You see the Universe has this sense of humor & WAY WAAAY back when, I said something that went like this: "Dear God if I could make a six figure salary I'd be REALLY greatful" Well I didn't really think he'd actually be listening. Sigh. So being that HE is the worlds single largest temp agency the city of San Francisco called me. So this prayer was like some seven years ago. I'm STILL trying to figure out HIS timing so it coincides with my requests & convenience. Not happening:)I'm happy to note that all my calculations have been wrong thus far.
Oh let me also mention that I wanted to look good while making a six figures. So could he throw in a Ferrari? No joke. I instead got a great deal on a Ferrari-ish "looking" sports car, a 1988 Mazda RX-7 Convertable that gets an astonishing 16mi to the Gallon..downhill. To add further validity that my prayer was in fact answered I bought the car from a private car dealer who looked amazingly like my friend who is Jewish. So I asked him how he liked America & what did he do prior to coming here. He said: "that he liked America & before this he was a fisherman. He smiled. I was dumbstruck. I said Reaally how about them 49er's....

So there you have it in a nutshell. "all" my prayers answered & funny thing is two years ago the gas was "killing" me taking a half a tank round trip. This was my main commuter. So I prayed desperately for a car that could get 50mpg. Guess what. Here came the Toyota Prius. Now my Rx-7 has three flat tires sitting in the garage. Life can be interesting a times. Now for that Lotto prayer. I'll be EXTRA crafty in that next prayer as I'm sure to "get it right" this time......; Sunday, June 29, 2008 6:57:00 PM
RV6Flyer said...: Looks like housing2008 picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue.; Sunday, June 29, 2008 7:59:00 PM
Unknown said...: I went to a few open houses Sunday, one was bank owned in a fabulous neighborhood. Gave me the itch to buy--probably from the brainwashing of "flip" shows. Anyway, it only took one trip to the New york times "rent vs. buy" calculator to tell that would be idiotic-especially with zero appreciation over the next several years. Glad I have you guys to keep me sane. I just have to keep telling myself that renting is cool!!!!

Jennifer; Monday, June 30, 2008 7:52:00 AM
Anonymous said...: If you commute to SF every day in a Prius and I work from home and drive an Excursion. Who is more green?; Monday, June 30, 2008 9:16:00 AM
HOUSE2008 said...: Looks like housing2008 picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue

lol. Not at all.

If you commute to SF every day in a Prius and I work from home and drive an Excursion. Who is more green?

Hmm. Good question. Don't know. I think it's a wash.But being on the verge of buying a house it's scary to think that the gas bill (will be)almost 40% of the mortgage. Makes one focus real hard. I feel for the familes out there. I'm paying rent right now & doing fine. Hopefully the price for the barrel of oil crashes. I hope it's a bubble otherwise we'll be seeing a lot more homes being foreclosed on due to gas. 40%!!! Sheesh.; Monday, June 30, 2008 9:47:00 AM